Disposable flexible food holder

ABSTRACT

A disposable flexible food holder includes a tray to support a food item thereon. The tray having a plurality of spaced apart pre-pressed bendable lines extending thereacross, forming a plurality of segments. A plurality of spaced apart tabs is located along opposite sides of the tray, whereby two tabs are at opposite sides of each segment of the tray, to position the food item on the tray. An upwardly extending rear wall is on the tray. A top flap is foldably connected to and extends forwardly from an upper edge of the rear wall to assist a person in securing the food item between the top flap and the tray.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to food serving devices, and more particularly, a disposable flexible food holder. Many people enjoy eating pizza, pie, sandwiches, cakes or other baked goods. However, these types of foods often make a mess as they are consumed. People may not order their favorite food because they fear that their outfit may become stained. Also, some foods may require additional boxes, plates or silverware. Some takeout boxes can be time consuming and tedious to put together, or require a large taped top for assembly. An effective solution is needed.

The disposable flexible food holder provides a way for a person to eat various foods without touching the food with their hands. The present invention is a lightweight cardboard tray and designed to accommodate fast and hands-clean eating of pizza, pie, sandwiches, cake or a portion of any other food that can be placed on the food holder and consumed by biting. The lightweight cardboard tray will bend down by the use of tabs as the person consumes the food, allowing the hands of the person to stay clean. Any food establishment that wants to give customers a more convenient takeout container or any person who desires a less messy way to consume a variety of foods may appreciate this innovative product.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Numerous innovations for disposable food carriers have been provided in the prior art that will be described. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, however, they differ from the present invention.

A FIRST EXAMPLE, U.S. Patent Office Document No. 4,635,843, issued on Jan. 13, 1897, to Tomlinson teaches a disposable utensil that is made from a cardboard blank and takes the form of a flat-bottomed hand scoop with forwardly sloped side walls, a back wall, and a pair of rear handles. The back wall is overlapped by a reinforcing wall which is in turn overlapped by a panel from which the handles extend and which is connected at the top to the back wall and at the bottom to the reinforcing wall.

A SECOND EXAMPLE, U.S. Patent Office Document No. 5,098,013, issued on Mar. 24, 1992, to France et al. teaches a tray for transporting a single slice of pizza while facilitating use of the tray as a support so that the piece of pizza can be removed from and repositioned on the tray during eating thereof. The tray includes a generally triangular bottom wall and a pair of low-height side walls which extend along opposite identical side edges of the bottom wall. The other or base edge of the tray is open to facilitate movement of a piece of pizza either onto or off of the tray. The tray is formed from a flat blank constructed preferably of corrugated paperboard, with fold lines separating the low side walls from the bottom wall so that the side walls can be folded upwardly to be generally perpendicular to the bottom wall. One of the side walls has a latching tab integrally associated therewith and foldable so as to wrap around one end of the other side wall for insertion into an elongate slot which extends along the fold between the other side wall and the bottom wall to latch the tray in its assembled position.

A THIRD EXAMPLE, U.S. Patent Office Document No. 5,129,521, issued on Jul. 14, 1992, to Irigoite et al. teaches a disposable pizza slice holder, of the kind used for supporting a slice of pizza for fast eating, is formed by an approximately triangular flat base body whose shorter side has a hinging flap section of trapezoidal shape provided with a lobbed section protruding from the central portion of its free edge. In an alternative embodiment, the rear flap section is provided with an extension wall which is hinged by means of parallel folding lines, to the base body and to the flap portion, so as to shape-up a rear lodging side, through the flipping of the upper flap toward the base body having a back vertical wall whose height is determined by the width of the extension wall, to back up and encase the enlarged rim of the supported pizza slice, and there are two lateral ear sections protruding from laterally hinged walls having a triangular shape, the ear sections having a profiled inner edge to allow the upper section to slide into two parallel receiving slots, provided along the lower extension wall of the hinged flap section.

A FOURTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Patent Office Document No. 5,381,905, issued on Jan. 17, 1995, to Mallmamm et al. teaches a disposable support for pizza, made whether of a paper covered by a waterproof material or totally in plastic, having a base of a basically triangular or circular shape, characterized by comprising a rear edge delimited by a circular sector-shape rear edge, and a folding line, which is symmetrical to the rear edge.

A FIFTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Patent Office Document No. 6,299,918, issued on Oct. 9, 2001, to Morgese teaches a pizza server along with its outer sleeve, providing a neater and more comfortable means of enjoying this fun food, as well as for it to stay warmer longer thanks to the outer sleeve that slips on and off very easily. The absorbent liner both in the sleeve and on the pizza server absorbs the excess grease. Thanks to the flap you can handle the slice of pizza without touching it, and thanks to the crease you can fold it so it won't flop. During consumption, the pizza server peels back from underneath the pizza, thanks to the crease which separates by use of a pull string or perforation and thin strips embedded in the plate which help keep the plate folded away. An alternative peel-away method uses cross-wise perforations about every two inches. This pizza-server will make a great advertising and promotion tool, by imprinting information on them and then handing them out to generate good-will.

It is apparent now that numerous innovations for a disposable food containers have been provided in the prior art that are adequate for various purposes. Furthermore, even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, accordingly, they would not be suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

AN OBJECT of the present invention is to provide a disposable flexible food holder that avoids the disadvantages of the prior art.

ANOTHER OBJECT of the present invention is to provide a disposable flexible food holder that is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and environmentally safe to dispose.

STILL ANOTHER OBJECT of the present invention is to provide a disposable flexible food holder that is simple to use by consumers of all ages and dexterity.

BRIEFLY STATED, STILL YET ANOTHER OBJECT of the present invention is to provide a disposable flexible food holder comprising a tray to support a food item thereon. The tray having a plurality of spaced apart pre-pressed bendable lines extending thereacross, forming a plurality of segments. A plurality of spaced apart tabs are located along opposite sides of the tray, whereby two tabs are at opposite sides of each segment of the tray, to position the food item on the tray. An upwardly extending rear wall is on the tray. A top flap is foldably connected to and extends forwardly from an upper edge of the rear wall that has a plurality of notches on the free-end to assist a person in securing the food item between the top flap and the tray. The person can selectively bend the segments along the pre-pressed bendable lines of the tray downward and away from the food item by pulling the tabs, allowing the person to eat the food item without getting grease and crumbs of the food item on hands and clothing of the person.

The novel features which are considered characteristic of the present invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of the specific embodiments when read and understood in connection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The figures of the drawings are briefly described as follows:

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of the present invention per se;

FIG. 2 is a side perspective view of the present invention showing a person holding a food item therein;

FIG. 3 is a is a front perspective view of the present invention showing how the tray can be pulled down by using the tabs;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the present invention showing how the tray folds down as the person consumes the food item; and

FIG. 5 is a top perspective view showing the person placing both the present invention and the food item into a bag to be transported.

REFERENCE NUMERALS UTILIZED IN THE DRAWING

-   110 disposable flexible food holder -   112 V-shaped tray of food holder 110 -   114 food item -   116 a first pre-pressed bendable line on tray -   116 b second pre-pressed bendable line on tray -   116 c third pre-pressed bendable line on tray -   118 segment of tray 112 -   120 six side tab of food holder 110 -   122 rear wall on tray 112 -   124 top flap on rear wall 122 -   126 person or eater -   128 hand of person 126 -   130 clothing of person 126 -   132 lightweight cardboard for food holder 110 -   134 notch in top flap 124 -   136 finger of hand 128 -   138 bag of food holder 110 -   139 a semi-circular opening at the center of rear wall 122 -   139 b semi-circular holder for easy pull of the food holder -   110 from the food bag 138 -   140 fourth pre-pressed bendable line on the rear wall 122 -   142 solid bendable line between holder 110 and rear wall 122

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As shown in FIGS. 1 through 2, the present invention is a disposable flexible food holder 110 comprising a V-shaped tray 112 to support a food item 114 thereon. The tray 112 has three spaced apart pre-pressed bendable lines 116 (a, b, c) extending thereacross, forming a plurality of segments 118. A plurality of spaced apart side tabs 120 are located along opposite sides of the tray 112, whereby two side tabs 120 are at opposite sides of each segment 118 of the V-shaped tray 112 to position the food item 114 on the tray 112. In normal position, the side tabs are pulled upward to position the food item 114. Each side tab 120 (in a triangle form) has a dimension 0.25-0.5 inch in height; and 1-1.5 inch in the base. There are total six (06) side tabs 120.

An upwardly extending rear wall 122 is on the tray 112. A top flap 124 is foldably connected to and extends forwardly from an upper edge along a pre-pressed bendable line 140 of the rear wall 122 to assist a person 126 in securing the food item 114 between the top flap 124 and the tray 112. The rear wall 122 is bendable along a solid bendable line 142 of the tray 112. The rear wall 122 has a centered semi-circular opening 139 a with a semi-circular tab 139 b for easy pull of the food holder from a food bag. The radius of the semi-circular tab is about 8-10 mm.

The holder 110 also has a layer for printing logos, company′ names, or promotion.

As shown in FIGS. 3-4: The person 126 can selectively bend or curl the segments 118 along the pre-pressed bendable lines 116 (a,b,c) of the tray 112 downward and away from the food item 114 by pulling out & down the side tabs 120, allowing the person 126 to eat the food item 114 gradually without getting grease and crumbs of the food item 114 on hands 128 and clothing 130 of the person 126.

The V-shaped tray 112, the side tabs 120, the rear wall 122 and the top flap 124 are integral and are made of a material having a sufficient rigidity to support the food item 114 on the V-shaped tray 112. The material is formed of a lightweight paper cardboard 132 or other plastic, thermal insulated material (for hot food items) as well. The size and shape of the tray 112 can vary to accommodate different types of food items 114. Basically, the thickness of the holder 110 is 2-4 mm. The width of the base of the V-shaped tray 112 is about 5-6 centimeters.

The top flap 124 has a plurality of notches 124 to allow the person 126 to better grasp the top flap 124 by fingers 136 of the hand 128 holding the tray.

As shown in FIG. 5, the food holder 110 further comprises a bag 138 to fit over the tray 112, the side tabs 120, the rear wall 122, the top flap 124 and the food item 114 for transportation thereof.

In review the disposable flexible food holder 110 allows the person 126 to conveniently consume their favorite food item 114 without getting grease or crumbs on their hands 128 and clothing 130. The present invention is made of the lightweight cardboard 132 that is cut into a specific shape with the pre-pressed bendable lines 116 to allow easy folding along the pre-pressed bendable lines 116. The food holder 110 can be quickly assembled by simply folding the lightweight cardboard 132 to allow for placement of the food item 114 thereon.

The food item 114 may be consumed by folding the segments 118 of the tray 112 of the food holder 110 downward by using the side tabs 120. The tray 112 folds easily without ever touching the food item 114 placed on the tray 112. The size and shape of the tray 112 may vary to accommodate different types of food.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodiments of a disposable flexible food holder, accordingly it is not limited to the details shown, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention. 

The invention claimed is:
 1. A disposable flexible food holder comprising: a) a V-shaped tray to support a food item thereon, the tray having a plurality of spaced apart pre-pressed bendable lines extending thereacross, forming a plurality of segments; b) a plurality of spaced apart side tabs located along opposite sides of the tray, whereby two tabs are at opposite sides of each segment of the tray to position the food item on the V-shaped tray; wherein each side tab 120 (in a triangle form) has a dimension 0.25-0.5 inch in height; and 1-1.5 inch in the base; c) an upwardly extending rear wall on the V-shaped tray; wherein the rear wall has a centered semi-circular opening with a semi-circular tab for easy pull of the food holder from a food bag; and d) a top flap foldably connected to and extending forwardly from an upper edge of the rear wall that has a plurality of notches on the free-end to assist a person in securing the food item between the top flap and the tray, whereby the person can selectively bend the segments along the pre-pressed bendable lines of the tray downward and away from the food item by pulling the tabs, allowing the person to eat the food item without getting grease and crumbs of the food item on hands and clothing of the person.
 2. The food holder as recited in claim 1, wherein the tray, the tabs, the rear wall and the top flap are integral and are made of a material having a sufficient rigidity to support the food item on the tray.
 3. The food holder as recited in claim 2, wherein the material is consisting from a group of a lightweight paper cardboard, plastic or thermal insulated material.
 4. The food holder as recited in claim 1, wherein thickness of the holder is 2-4 mm and a width of a base of the V-shaped tray is about 5-6 centimeters.
 5. The food holder as recited in claim 1, wherein the top flap has a plurality of notches to allow the person to better grasp the top flap by fingers of a hand.
 6. The food holder as recited in claim 1, wherein in said food bag to fit over the tray, the side tabs, the rear wall, the top flap and the food item for transportation thereof.
 7. The food holder as recited in claim 1, further comprising a layer for printing logos, company′ names, or promotion.
 8. The food holder as recited in claim 1, further comprising a radius of the semi-circular tab is about 8-10 mm.
 9. The food holder as recited in claim 1, further comprises total six (06) side tabs. 